Groups Combine to Help New York Small Businesses with Recycling, Pollution Prevention

Empire State Development's Environmental Management Investment Group (EMIG) and Small Business Environmental Ombudsman (SBEO) were recently combined into one unit - the Environmental Services Unit - to better serve the New York's small business community on environmental issues. EMIG has been responsible for providing technical and financial assistance to businesses to help build recycling capacity in New York, and, more recently, to help business increase their competitiveness through pollution prevention. EMIG administers ESD's Environmental Investment Program (EIP). The SBEO has been responsible for helping small businesses understand the requirements of the State's clean air regulations. The SBEO provides businesses with free and confidential environmental compliance assistance with federal, state and local air quality regulations. The merger of these two units provides small businesses with "one-stop" shopping for virtually all of ESD's environmental services. The new unit will continue to administer the Environmental Investment Program and provide clean air compliance assistance. The Environmental Services Unit will also administer the Rebuild NY pilot program to promote the cleanup and reuse of "brownfield" sites with high economic potential.

Reprinted with permission from the NERC email bulletin, January 2002.